SC asks govt to explain legality of internment centres – Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court questioned the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about the operation of the detention centers without authorization for three months last year during the hearing of a petition on Friday against the KP Ordinance on Civil Aid.

The president of the court, Asif Saeed Khosa, who heads a Supreme Court court of five judges, warned Attorney General Anwar Mansoor several times that he must satisfy the court about the legality of the matter. Otherwise, he warned, it would cause problems for the government.

And in a clearer line, the president of the court told the AG that he needed to "do more."

The AG replied that "in Pakistan we always have to do more."

The joint challenge to the PK ordinance, presented by the unconditional PPP Farhatullah Babar, the rights activists Afrasiab Khattak, Bushra Gohar and Rubina Saigol, seeks the scrapping of the ordinance as it "affects fundamental rights."

In addition to the petition, the largest bank is also busy with the federal government's appeal against the decision of the Peshawar Superior Court (PHC) of October 17, 2018, which holds the ordinance as ultra vires. The verdict also considered the decisions of the provincial government to continue with the laws in the old Pata and Fata illegal.

The problem arose when the court was notified that the Amendment to the 25th Constitution entered into force on May 31 of last year after the elimination of Article 247 (7) of the Constitution and the merger of the Tribal Areas (Fata) administered by the federal government and the provincially administered tribal areas (Pata) with KP.

Before the 25th Amendment, tribal areas were administered in accordance with Article 247 of the Constitution, which authorized the president to establish regulations for peace and good governance in Fata and Pata.

Later, the PK Assembly adopted the Regulation of Action in Help of Civil Powers that provides protection to detention centers and other actions taken by the armed forces to combat terrorism.

The law had also mentioned Fata even though Amendment 25 had merged both Pata and Fata in KP.

Upon realizing the error, the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa enacted the KP-Action In Aid of Civil Power Ordinance on January 4 of this year by giving a retrospective effect to the law as of September 2018 and by eliminating other deficiencies such as mentioning Fata in the previous regulations.

But the Supreme Court was concerned about why the ordinance ignored the period between May 31, 2018, when Amendment 25 entered into force and provided protection only as of September.

During the hearing, Judge Gulzar Ahmed regretted that the federal government granted some rights to the people of Fata and Pata through Amendment 25, but the provincial government took away those rights.

Judge Qazi Faez Isa noted that the amendment had done much more than merge Fata and Pata with KP as it had introduced democracy in the former tribal areas by giving them representation in assemblies.

The president of the court asked if the creators of the constitution provided any transition clause in subsequent laws because after Amendment 25 the legislature knew well the mechanism and arrangements under which detention centers operate and if all provinces should be occupied. of all these systems. Otherwise, the agreement will become unconstitutional.

The attorney general read the regulations to establish the facilities offered to the inmates, p. Family visits, letters after 15 days, clothing, imparting skills and rehabilitation.

Anwar Mansoor said he would produce a video at the next audience to show how detention centers worked and how international organizations like UNICEF were working with them.

Judge Gulzar Ahmed asked if the government had evidence that the inmates were non-state actors.

"No country in the world accepts them anymore, since they are not faithful to any country, except the organization they are working for," Judge Ahmed observed.

The AG said there were certain things that it cannot reveal.

But the president of the court wondered if the list of missing persons had been shared with the commission of enforced disappearances. He explained to the AG that the court was not busy with the performance of the detention centers, but with the legal status of the agreement.

Attorney General Mansoor responded that the state had to be protected by taking extraordinary measures and "we have saved the country from criminals."

"I will try to convince the court that the detention centers are not unconstitutional," said the AG.

Published on Dawn, November 16, 2019